


color is a power which directly influences the soul

by earthforever



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Soft Boys, Soulmate AU, i love these boys, they are both oblivious, tsukki is awkward, yama and hinata are good friends, yama has two moms, yams is an otaku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11501916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthforever/pseuds/earthforever
Summary: The world is black and white until you look at your soulmate.Yamaguchi knew from the moment he laid eyes on Tsukishima that he was his soulmate. However, since Tsukishima saw Yamaguchi at the same time as his bullies, he wasn't sure which of them was his soulmate.Cue the awkward dancing around the subject of soulmates.





	1. Chapter 1

Yamaguchi Tadashi is six, and he hasn’t found his soulmate. At his age, who cares about soulmates? Just the word itself had very little meaning to him, and he would certainly rather explore all of the new things available to him than rush to find whoever it was. It seemed like a no brainer. After all, he’s still learning everything about the world he lives in, which occupied most of his time. In fact, he just recently learned that the sun is (disappointingly) not following him when he’s in the car, driving with his parents. It was upsetting, for sure, but he knew he’d have to sacrifice things in favor of learning.

 

There was one thing bothering Yamaguchi, though. For whatever reason, whether it was on purpose or a byproduct of who or whatever created the earth and its inhabitants, he could only see in black and white. Color was a spectacle only someone who’d met their soulmate could see, color was unknown to him. (it also bonded two people so that the color only stayed as long as your soulmate was alive but that’s a different matter entirely) If there were one reason to find his soulmate at an early age, Yamaguchi thought, it would be that. Sometimes, his parents would point at a flower say “I love that color” and nothing frustrated him more than not being able to differentiate that flower’s color and the next.

 

Color. Noun. “ The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light.” At least, that’s the complicated and meaningless definition he found when he curiously looked up the word in the dictionary one day. He just learned how to read, half of those words weren't even in his six-year-old vocabulary.

 

He’s heard the word before, and his parents have tried to explain it to him, but that doesn't give him the experience he was so curious about. Plus, color was a concept that just couldn't be explained. Tadashi understood that it could take a while before he found out who it was, and that didn't upset him too much, even if he had no idea what “yellow” looked like yet.

 

Six is a little too young for worrying about a soulmate, he thinks, so Yamaguchi busies himself with getting used to attending school and making new friends.

 

Besides, in school, the subject of romantic soulmates is hardly touched upon before reaching junior high. The school system does, however, teach kids about platonic soulmates (a best friend forever, as his teachers explained it)  from an early age. The indicator is much more subtle, simply a tattoo of their name that appears when you meet them.

 

Tadashi really hopes he meets his platonic soulmate soon.

 

\---

 

Making new friends is harder for Yamaguchi when he gets older, he realizes. It hits him like a wave of freezing water, threatening to pull him under. It hasn’t been long since he started school, but he’s disliking it more and more. More specifically, he’s disliking some of the other students.  _ You’ve got a lumpy face, Tadashi.  _ The words taunted him, continuously bringing themselves to the forefront of his mind when he least expected it.

 

The snide comments the other boys made about his freckles, accompanied by the shoving lowered his self esteem dramatically. It wasn’t every day, but the more it happened, the less Yamaguchi actually wants to show up to school. The tears they brought made him feel pathetic and useless, because he knew he couldn’t do anything to protect himself.

 

Everything changes one seemingly normal day. The sky was clear, only covered by a few clouds here and there. The wind blew pleasantly and reminded Tadashi of summers spent in the park, playing with his moms.

 

And yeah, the same boys who always bullied him were at it again, pushing and name-calling and the likes. Pretty much the norm at this point. Yamaguchi was on the floor with tears in his eyes when he heard a voice, one that hadn’t been there just a second ago.

 

“Pathetic,” the voice remarked. The freckled boy looked up, and what he saw shocked him. First, he noticed it was a boy. A tall one, but a boy nonetheless.  _ I wonder how tall he is,  _ Yamaguchi thought vaguely. He had glasses, an indifferent look on his face, and a little moon shape on the back of his jacket. The second thing he noticed was the color of the boy’s hair _. _ He didn't know what to call it, (because hey, why give something a name if you can't distinguish it from everything else?) but he immediately came to the conclusion that he liked it a lot. His hair was so beautiful, so bright. Tadashi vaguely noticed the newcomer’s shockingly bright eyes widen almost imperceptibly before regaining his cool composure. He was caught up in being attacked by the colors assaulting his eyes that he didn’t pay attention to the boy walking away, nor the bullies who followed the boy, nor the short spoken confrontation that followed.

 

All of the boys ended up leaving, but Yamaguchi was still awestruck by the endless variety of colors he could now see. He slowly got up, looking around, taking note of everything and how  _ different  _ everything looked than it did just a few minutes earlier.

 

Tadashi was in shock for so long, the singular word the tall boy said didn’t hit him until much later. He sullenly wondered if the boy was talking about his bullies, him,  _ or both _ . He wouldn’t doubt it if that were the case.

 

Tadashi was distracted from his thoughts when another cold wave of shocking realization washed over him. He had this sudden ability to see color, and he knew exactly why: the boy in the park.  _ His soulmate.  _ The freckled boy went home and secretly learned the names to every color so could differentiate them later. He learned that the boy’s hair was impossibly yellow, a color similar to his golden eyes and almost immediately decided yellow was his favorite of all the colors.

 

\---

 

Yamaguchi didn’t see the blond very often after that. A glimpse here and there, but not nearly enough. If he were being honest with himself, he wanted to know a lot more about the boy he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with.

 

The freckled boy had yet to tell his parents about finding his soulmate, so he was careful to not inspect the color of things too closely, in case they figured it out. It was hard, but he’d have to make it work if he didn't want to risk his parents endless questioning. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell them, he just felt like he should  _ at least  _ be able to give them a name when he does.

 

On the bright side, the bullying died down a little, but he knew it wouldn’t last long. His bullies probably thought the blond would be around a lot more to help him out. Tadashi decided he didn’t want to rely on the boy he hardly knew anything about ( _ his soulmate! _ ) and that it was time to do something, to finally be able to stand up for himself. Although he had little clue on how to do that, he decided joining a sport was not a bad place to start.

 

Yamaguchi headed to the gym with no prior knowledge of any sport, much less which one he’d want to join. Looking around at all of the different ones available to him, Yamaguchi felt a little overwhelmed. Baseball and soccer seemed to have a lot of scary guys, so those were out of the question. Along with... most of the other sports, he noted. Looking into the gym that the youth volleyball team was playing in, he was slightly more intrigued in this sport than the others. Mainly, he was ecstatic that volleyball seemed to have a lack of scary guys.

 

Suddenly, he heard a slightly familiar voice greeting him as the person walked past him and into the gym.

 

Tadashi isn’t entirely sure if it was fate, pure coincidence, or if whoever was in charge of the world enjoyed watching him suffer, but the person he saw walking into the gym was none other than the tall blond from the park the other day.  _ Your soulmate _ his subconscious helpfully supplies, to which he intelligently retorted  _ shut up. _

 

After a slightly awkward conversation, Tadashi learned a few things that day, the first being that he actually kind of liked volleyball, and the lack of scary people was just a bonus. Also, it had very little to do with the tall boy who was, apparently, already in that particular club. He also learned the blond boy’s name - it was Tsukishima Kei - and that his brother, Tsukishima Akiteru was  _ the ace  _ on the Karasuno high school volleyball team. The taller boy blushed slightly hearing praise about his brother, but Yamaguchi didn’t mention it, fearing he’d lose the only friend he’s been able to make in a while. 

 

The most troublesome thing he learned, however, was that the blond had no recollection of the day in the park. Which meant even though they could now see the same colors, the taller of the two didn’t acknowledge that Yamaguchi was his soulmate.

 

_ Oh well _ , Tadashi thought,  _ we still have the rest of our lives. One day, maybe, I’ll like him and I’ll confess to him and we’ll talk about how we’re soulmates! _

 

Little did Tadashi know, Tsukishima actually had no clue who it was. After all, he had looked upon the group of four boys at the same time - it could’ve been any of them.

 

What a mess.

 

The only good thing to come out of this, it seemed, was the friendship he swiftly developed with Tsukishima (or Tsukki, as he’d later dub him during a sleepover when he was half asleep. Kei never let anyone else call him that nickname either, much to Tadashi’s absolute delight.)


	2. Chapter 2

It was difficult to admit, but it turned out that successfully talking about soulmates and confessing to Tsukishima was harder than Yamaguchi initially believed. They’re now first years in high school, and things haven’t changed much at all. Progress was moving at a snail’s pace, and nothing frustrated Tadashi more.

At first, the freckled boy didn’t know him and therefore had no opinion of him. Or, an opinion of his personality at least, because one of the first things Yamaguchi thought on the day they met was  _ he’s so tall  _ and that counted as an opinion, right? He learned that he thoroughly enjoyed the blond’s company, and that he could safely call Tsukki his best friend. Tsukki even called Yamaguchi that, (although not as often) much to his delight.

Now, though, Yamaguchi knew he had a crush on his best friend.  _ Who wouldnt?  _ He thinks. Tsukishima is legitimately the coolest person he’s ever met.  _ Ever.  _ Tadashi likes the taller boy so much, in fact, that he’s pretty sure he’d have a crush on the blond even in a parallel universe where soulmate indicators weren’t a thing.

Not only did Tsukishima help him when he was bullied, but he showed Yamaguchi a patience and kindness that he's hardly shown to anyone who wasn't related to him. One time, Kei bought himself a stuffed dinosaur and gave Tadashi a matching one for his birthday. The former tried to play it off as Not a Big Deal, but Yamaguchi knew it was like Kei was sharing a piece of himself with his best friend. Simple actions like this one put Tadashi over the moon.

Plus, he bought the freckled boy his favorite food, which was always a bonus.

What bothered Tadashi, though (probably the only downside to the blond’s personality) was Kei’s inability to care about soulmates. Admittedly, a lot of people didn’t care who their soulmates were until college, but Yamaguchi was different. He already knew who it was, and he was slowly but surely falling in love with the taller boy. Every time they were around each other, Tadashi felt so  _ happy  _ and carefree and almost as if he could do anything. Tsukishima was his rock, he grounded him when Tadashi was overwhelmed with lingering anxiety and insecurities, he allowed him to be himself with no repercussions, and he laughed at Yamaguchi’s jokes, no matter how bad they were. Tadashi felt undeniably lucky that he, of all people, was the one who Kei was supposed to be with for the rest of his life.

Sure, Tsukki was closed off and guarded when they first met, but he’s even more so now, something that initially seemed nearly impossible. This would probably be a reason to worry if they were anyone else in the world, but Yamaguchi was reassured in the fact that Tsukishima hardly ever kept things from him. He never outright talked about things unless they were really bothering him, but when asked, he’d answer all of the freckled boy’s question.

Likewise, Kei was already a perceptive person, and used his hatred of others and standoffish personality as a way to keep most people from approaching him, preferring to learn things from a distance. Yamaguchi was the exception. He paid even more attention to his best friend, noticing everything about him while keeping him close - sometimes literally - at almost all times. One of the first things he noticed was his preference of soggy french fries over crispy ones. They had this unspoken system that they’ve been using ever since: Tsukishima would eat all of the hard, crunchy fries and leave the rest for Yamaguchi. The habit made the shorter ridiculously happy when he first noticed the pattern.

One of Kei’s favorite things to notice about the brunette, however was his nervous habits and little quirks. Knowing these allowed him to very easily pick up on his friend’s moods, so he could help whenever possible. When they first met, Tadashi had a habit of playing with his hands when he was nervous. Two years later, he started biting his nails. (Tsukishima, knowing how gross fingernails can be, insisted on painting his nails for him, hoping the color would deter his friend from continuing the habit. It worked.)

Now though, years after meeting and being there for each other in almost every way possible, there was one habit Yamaguchi just couldn’t seem to shake, which Tsukishima deemed the second worst of all.

“Seriously, Yamaguchi, what the fuck.” Tsukki asked as he furiously rubbed at the newly forming bite mark on his arm, hoping it would ease the pain to no avail. Neither of them are sure when the biting started, but Tsukishima was always the primary victim. Probably because they were hardly ever separated, but that was irrelevant.

“Sorry, Tsukki, I-” the brunette started before he was cut off.

“I know, I know,” the blond sighed. “You can’t help it.”

It was the middle of volleyball practicde, and by now everyone was used to Yamaguchi’s biting habits. The team was made aware when Yamaguchi bit Suga on the second day of regular practice.  _ That  _ conversation was tough and slightly embarrassing, but now Yamaguchi’s bites were usually met with a ruffle of his hair instead of strange looks.

“You know, if I were you Tsukishima, I don’t think I could handle that. No offense, Yamaguchi but that’s pretty intense.” The brunette blushed, having the decency to pretend to be ashamed. Tsukishima knew better.

“Good thing you’re not me, Hinata. I don’t think you could handle the constant feeling of depression and self-loathing weighing down on you.”

“I don’t know what half of that means.” chirped the ginger in response.

“Of course you don’t,” Tsukki replied, earning a snicker from Yamaguchi.

“Hey! I know what  _ that  _ means, Stingy-shima,” Hinata poked his tongue out to emphasize his distaste for the snarky remarks Tsukishima always gave him.

“Don’t you have someone else to annoy?” Tsukishima inquired before continuing with a smirk. “Maybe I should ask the King for help controlling his soulmate.”

Hinata’s face reddened, almost as bright as his hair. He muttered under his breath (biting forgotten altogether) something along the lines of “stupid Stingy-shima” but the aforementioned blond didn’t care.

“Tsukki, play nice.” scolded Yamaguchi, before he walked away, summoned by the vice captain. All he got was a deadpan stare in return, but they both knew it was a rare occasion for the former to go against the latter’s wishes. It was simply how things worked for them.

Hinata’s and Kageyama’s soul bond was basic knowledge among the team. When they met at their middle school match and Kageyama ended up being three levels of asshole, Hinata was utterly disappointed. Tsukishima would pay an unhealthy amount of money to go back in time and be there the day Hinata walked into the gym, seeing none other than his royal (pain in the ass) soulmate in the same place.

In fact, a lot of the team members were each other’s soulmates. Asahi and Noya were the first two to outright say it. Even if they hadn’t it would’ve been easy enough to figure it, seeing as Noya refused to do most things without the shy third year.

Kinoshita and Narita were slightly more obvious, which is odd since they didn’t speak much outside of the circle of second years. Regardless, Yamaguchi thought they were pretty cute, even if they hardly spoke to him.

The most obvious were the captain and vice captain of Karasuno’s volleyball team. Daichi and Suga, the ever so stable “parent” types were very upfront about it, making it obvious from the very first day. If the first years had a dollar for every time the two captain participated in PDA (usually initiated by Suga), they’d have a small fortune right now. Yamaguchi mentioned this before, when the quartet were walking home from practice one day which led to a discussion on what they’d spend the money on.

Hinata and Kageyama agreed they should spend it on volleyball equipment, whereas Yamaguchi thought blowing it all on french fries was a better alternative, and Tsukishima kept quite. He’d rather die than admit that if it were up to him, all of the money would go to strawberries and other sweets he’d grown an affinity for. Of course, Yamaguchi already knew about this and teased him for it later.

Kageyama and Hinata were the most reluctant to tell the team. If the orange ball of literal sunshine hadn’t accidentally mentioned it one day, they probably would’ve continued to live in harsh avoidance.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, the last two from the group to share the status, but also the only ones who hadn’t told everyone else. Telling the others, Yamaguchi thought, was harder than it should’ve been, seeing as the pair hadn’t even talked about it with each other.

Tsukishima, on the other hand, still wasn’t entirely sure it was Yamaguchi, even though he felt stupid thinking that when the freckled boy was the only one he still saw after That Day.

He’d never admit it to anyone either, but he secretly hoped it would be his string bean of a best friend instead of… literally  _ any _ of the other guys. He knew it was a one in four chance, seeing as there were four people in total that he saw that day, but when had things ever gone the way he wanted them to?

He told himself it was simply because he didn’t want to go through the trouble of meeting and learning how to get comfortable with someone else, but anyone could see the longing glances he unknowingly aimed at the pinch server. Hinata made it quite clear - on several occasions, actually, including now - how weird he thought it was that Tsukishima was so obvious about his apparent crush on the freckled boy.

“You know, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi seems to be the only one who doesn’t know how you really feel about him,” Hinata mused while absentmindedly throwing a ball in the air and catching it. The repetitive motion calmed Tsukishima, even through his annoyance toward the short middle blocker.

“You know, Hinata, Kageyama seems to be the only one who cares about what you say,” he replied, hoping it’d distract him from the blush forming on his cheeks.

“I don’t understand why Yamaguchi still hangs around you.”

“Me either,” Tsukishima replies honestly, not loud enough for Hinata to hear him. Hinata takes his assumed lack of response as a cue to leave, wandering over to demand something or another from Kageyama.

After all, why would Yamaguchi stick around Tsukishima when he could do so much better? Kei kind of figured that if they were platonic soulmates, they would’ve known by now.

That still didn’t disprove one option, though, but Tsukishima had always been a pessimist and tried to not hold onto the hope that the freckled pinch server was, in fact, his romantic soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to update this every Friday (I say as I type this ten minutes before midnight)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I know this is more world-building but we'll get to the good parts soon! Tags will be updated soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have a sleepover and it's super soft.

The best part of being friends for years was probably the fact that they could communicate without saying much. Subtle movements or looks shared between the two allowed them to keep their conversations private, even in a room full of people.

 

This was especially useful now, when they were in the club room after practice on a Friday night. Everyone was getting ready to go home after a long practice, ready to start the weekend. Yamaguchi, however seemed content with taking his time, chatting away with Hinata and some of the second years.

 

On top of making Tsukishima feel unreasonably inadequate, this prolonged the time it would take for the two to walk home, thus shortening their time spent together.

 

The blond tugged on the freckled boy’s jacket sleeve, causing the latter to look at him. A brief moment of eye contact was all he needed to know that his best friend was telling him to hurry up without letting the others know how clingy he can get.

 

Without a word, Tadashi sped up the process of changing, quickly saying goodbyes to the team before dragging Kei out of the club room with him to begin their walk home.

 

“Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi apologized immediately after they were out of earshot of the others. The taller only shrugged with a noncommittal hum. “Is there a particular reason you wanted to leave so fast?”

 

“I’m tired. You know I get cranky if I’m out too long.” Tsukishima answered, half joking. He really didn’t have the energy to be around people (except for Yamaguchi, unsurprisingly) for that long. “Plus, there’s a new episode of that anime you’ve been meaning to make me watch. We have to catch up.” He said quieter, although the freckled boy still heard him. He smiled in return, causing Kei’s cold heart to flutter uncontrollably in his chest.

 

\--

 

“Tsukki, you’re not looking! This is my favorite part!”  
  
“You’ve said that at least three times in every episode we’ve seen, Yamaguchi.” Kei replied before turning his attention back to the screen anyway.

 

“Well, it’s a good show,” Yamaguchi mumbled, shifting so he was in a more comfortable position.

 

“Whatever. Sit up, you’ll end up falling asleep.”

 

“No I won't Tsukki, I promise,” Yamaguchi responded, already sounding half out of it.

 

The pair were in Tsukishima’s room, watching something called _Boku No Hero Academia_ on the blond’s laptop - Yamaguchi preferred Tsukishima’s house precisely for the brand new laptop Tsukishima acquired a few months prior. The two having a sleepover at either of their houses was a tradition between the two of them that started some months after their initial encounter. It was easily their favorite part of the week, although neither of the two has let the other know of their feelings.

 

Tadashi was sitting directly next to Tsukishima on his small bed, forcing the two to touch in various places. It made it hard for Kei to focus on anything but the points of contact, burning him to the touch. It wasn’t even that late, though, meaning he’d have to sit through a few more hours of this torture. He wondered if the other boy felt the same, although it didn’t seem like it.

 

Yamaguchi, having already seen the episode (probably more than once), mouthed every single word to himself, something that never failed to fill Tsukishima’s stomach with butterflies. Really, who could be that cute without even trying? Every so often, he would give a random fact about the show, or compare the dialogue and events with that of the manga. The blond would nod along, and ask a question every once in awhile just to show he was listening.

 

How could he give the show his complete attention when there was a beautiful freckled boy next to him? Tsukishima couldn’t think of anything that rivaled Yamaguchi’s beauty. He’d seen people comparing freckles to stars in poetry and various social media, and although Yamaguchi was most certainly a star, Kei felt as though his one of a kind freckles deserved more than a cliche comparison that had been used a thousand times before.

 

Sadly, Tsukishima’s never been good with words - unless those words were meant to be witty or cruel - and had little to no talents if you don't count his grades or sharp tongue.

 

Yamaguchi, however, was filled to the brim with potential and overwhelming talent - although said “talents” are slightly outside of the norm. He couldn't really play an instrument or sing, nor was he a natural at sports, and he practiced cooking something a hundred times before sharing it, eternally afraid of getting someone sick.

 

No, let it be known that Yamaguchi Tadashi is famous (among the volleyball team, that is) for two things - natural talents, if you will: the first being his habit of biting people. Whether it's out of affection, attraction, or just because he wants to, he bites whatever he can. His primary target is Tsukishima, but Hinata has been the victim plenty of times too. The reason he bit Suga on the second day of practice was because he has a weakness for pretty people.

 

The second reason for his fame is his ability to fall asleep anywhere. At first it worried the team because they thought something was wrong with him, but after Tsukishima explained that Tadashi has been like that practically forever, they mostly let it go.

 

Ever since, it's been a running gag amongst the team: someone would find him and snap a picture to send to the team group chat, and Ennoshita would save the picture in an album on his phone and write down the place in his notes. So far, they've found him ten times in the storage room of the gym, three times on a bench outside of Ukai’s family store, once in a third year classroom (he swears he doesn't know how he got there), and five times on the club room floor curled under Kei’s jacket, claiming it was the only one big enough for him to fit under that was available at the time. The aforementioned blond had to forcibly calm his wildly beating heart after Hinata had sent the picture to the group chat.

 

This is why Kei wasn't surprised at all to feel something softly falling against his side. He looked down to confirm his suspicion that yes, Tadashi had fallen asleep again.

 

It happened the same way every week: Yamaguchi practically “bribed” Tsukishima into watching something with him (Tsukishima never actually needed bribing as he’d follow Yamaguchi to the ends of the earth) before falling asleep. Tsukishima would finish the episode, and attempt to get ready for bed himself until the sleeping boy woke up and protested. Then they'd continue to watch it until the cycle repeated itself, like clockwork.

 

It was extremely endearing to witness Yamaguchi’s constant nodding off. No matter how many times it happened, it never failed to turn Tsukishima’s insides soft. They've been sharing a bed since they were younger, a habit that Tsukishima is uncharacteristically happy about.

 

Kei began drifting off, glancing at the clock before taking his glasses off and rubbing at his eyes. It was nearing three in the morning now, Yamaguchi having finally fallen asleep for the night.

 

With a soft smile on his face, he settled in for the night, allowing the warmth from Yamaguchi to deep into his skin, hoping said boy would always be around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading! Whether you'e been here since the beginning, or if you're just joining. Feel free to leave a comment or follow my [Haikyuu Tumblr](http://shootingstarsilvermoon.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A training camp at Nekoma leads to new discoveries.

Upon arriving to Tokyo, the Karasuno Volleyball Club was hit with a wave of fresh information.

“How do you know him?” Kageyama asked Hinata, after the ginger haired boy finished talking to one of the Nekoma team members.

“I met him the other day on our run,” Hinata explained. He seemed to remember something, then, as his eyes lit up with recollection. He flipped his wrist over to show off a tattoo. “Look! He’s my platonic soulmate!”

Kageyama stiffened slightly, shocked by the news.

“His name is Kenma and he's a second year and a setter and he's really cool!”

“I think that was too many ‘and’s Hinata,” Yamaguchi chuckled.

“That's okay! I'm just glad I got to meet him!” Hinata exclaimed, oblivious to Kageyama’s barely concealed turmoil.

\--

Later that day, Tsukishima and Kageyama were the only two in the club room they were borrowing, everyone else having rushed out as soon as possible.

“Do you think people could be given the wrong soulmate?”

The question came seemingly out of the blue. After all, no one was really known to question the force that drove two people together. Tsukishima was never one to talk about these things with other people, but the look on the blue eyed boy’s face made him feel like he couldn’t leave.

“Do you think that?” He asked in lieu of an actual response. The other boy shrugged, seemingly lost in thought. The borrowed club room was silent for a little bit, save for the sounds of the two changing into their practice clothes.

“I think… sometimes it’s unfair. Like Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Oikawa’s kind of a brat, and Iwaizumi has to deal with that for the rest of his life?” the blue eyed boy shook his head slightly. “It just seems like they’re not the right match for each other.”

Of course, Tsukishima himself already felt bad for the poor soul who had to deal with him for the rest of his life. After all, he knew what he was like. It seemed like Kageyama felt the same way about himself with Hinata.

“He must have some redeeming qualities, don’t you think?” Kageyama turned to look at Tsukishima, who tried to not flinch under the scrutiny of blue eyes. “There must be something about Oikawa that’s not that bad. Plus, Iwaizumi isn’t perfect either, Oikawa isn’t the only one with flaws. Iwaizumi doesn’t seem like the type to be openly affectionate; that’s bound to bother someone like Oikawa. Just look at how he’s constantly calling him names.”

Kageyama stopped to mull over what Tsukishima had just told him. In all honestly, Tsukishima isn’t even completely sure why he decided to help out the annoying setter in the first place.

It seemed like Yamaguchi was making him grow softer than he initially assumed.

“I guess you're right.” Kageyama said, probably processing everything that Tsukishima just said.

“Of course I am. I'm always right.”

“Asshole.”

They made their way to the gym shortly after, enough distance between them to seem like they weren't walking together.

Tsukishima immediately walked over to Yamaguchi - unsurprisingly, Kageyama went to Hinata - and they stood in silence, observing the other team and trying to figure out what their fates rivals were like.

Nekoma as a whole was… not what Tsukishima was expecting. The way the coaches and upperclassmen built them up hardly compared to the tornado that went by the name of Kuroo Tetsuro.

“Kenma’s soulmate is that guy?” Yamaguchi asked incredulously. Tsukishima couldn't blame him, the two seemed like complete opposites of each other.

Kenma was all soft spoken and liked to keep to himself. Any chance he got he’d pull out either his phone or a handheld game, and although he was good at it, he put in the minimal amount of effort towards volleyball.

Kuroo was loud, obnoxious, and probably practiced as much as Kageyama and Hinata. He liked to provoke the members of his team and sometimes other people, if what Hinata heard from Kenma could be trusted.

“Hinata said they've been friends since childhood. They've had a long time to get used to each other.”

“Kinda like us, huh Tsukki?” Yamaguchi inquired, at the taller boy.

Yamaguchi shouldn't be able to do that to him, not when everyone is around to see how much it affects Tsukishima.

“Yeah, kinda like us.”

Not too long after practice, Kuroo walked over to Tsukishima, saying something about acting like a “normal” high school student. What did he know about normal? He spoke like a thirty year old, despite being only a few years older. Tsukishima began walking away when he heard Kuroo’s voice.

“Hey, four-eyes,” Tsukishima turned to look back, despite how much he didn't want to. He was met with the sight of Kuroo holding up his wrist with a smirk on his face. “Seems like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, huh?”

Cursing under his breath, Tsukishima turned and walked away again, distancing himself from the annoying middle blocker.

The other first years came up to Tsukishima, Hinata being the most annoying of all. “Hey, saltyshima, what was all of that about?”

“None of your business.” The blond replied, keeping his voice flat despite the inner turmoil he was going through.

Of course, that didn't do much to deter Kageyama, since he was usually very perceptive. “Really? I didn't think you'd ever have one.”

“Still not your business,” Tsukishima remarked, getting annoyed.

Yamaguchi, who had been watching the whole encounter, gasped before speaking. “It's kind of ironic how your platonic soulmate and Hinata’s platonic soulmate are romantic soulmates.” Yamaguchi mused. Tsukishima should've known he’d notice - the freckled boy unnaturally attuned to all of Kei’s emotions and habits, knowing his personality like the back of his hand.

Hinata’s eyes lit up with recognition, finally catching on. “This is kind of like when a couple has platonics who are also a couple!”

“Except for the fact that we’re not a couple and we’ll never be a couple.” Tsukishima retorted before Kageyama could even open his mouth, trying to diffuse the tension in his shoulders. It worked only slightly.

“Rude, Stingyshima,” Hinata remarked, sticking his tongue out at Tsukishima for what must've been the hundredth time.

“What's he like?” Yamaguchi asked curiously.

“Annoying,” Tsukishima began. Although they hadn't said much to each other, Tsukishima could tell from the their one short interaction that Kuroo was a grade A pain in the ass. “He seems like the type to provoke others for fun.”

“Isn't that what you do?” Hinata butt in.

“No I like antagonizing you and Kageyama because it's easy.”

Kei walked away from the conversation before either of the two could reply, knowing Yamaguchi would follow him. He walked outside, out of earshot from the other players, and lied down in the grass, closing his eyes to avoid the harsh rays of the sun.

Yamaguchi sat next to him, a comfortable silence surrounding the two. Tadashi began pulling grass from the ground, causing Tsukishima to crack open one eye in order to find out where he's putting it.

“Really?” Tsukishima asked, closing his eye again to hide the pile of grass forming on his stomach from sight.

Yamaguchi hummed, but continued to pull at the grass anyway - not that Tsukishima expected differently.

“I think he has another one,” Tsukishima said, breaking the silence while shocking both of them. Kei hardly liked to talk about himself, unless it were to complain about something. Sort of like he's doing now.

“Another platonic?” Yamaguchi always knew what Tsukishima was talking about, even without having to ask. It was one of Kei’s favorite things about the boy.

“Yeah. Do you think he’ll leave me alone and just talk to the other one?”

“Probably not, Tsukki. Especially since you said he likes to provoke people.” The blond groaned, drawing a small giggle out of Yamaguchi. Kei’s heart beat faster. “Maybe it won't be so bad! He could be helpful in the future.”

“I doubt it.” Tsukishima protested.

“You doubt a lot of things.” _Like the possibility of someone as perfect as you being my forever._ Kei thought. He shrugged.

Silence washed over them again, this time lasting longer before Yamaguchi broke it. “Do you really want him to not need you, Tsukki?”

The taller boy paused at this. Did he? He never really thought he’d have a platonic soulmate. He was too closed off, too intimidating, too… _him_. The logical choice would be Yamaguchi, but the only comforting part of them not being platonic is the possibility it leaves for something more.

“I'm not sure,” Is all he can say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a day late because I didn't realize what day it was :c sorry! Not much happened this chapter, but next chapter should be better.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important conversation between Hinata and Yamaguci, followed by Tsukki Realizing Things.

“Yamaguchi, can I talk to you?”

 

The boy in question looked up to see the short middle blocker who addressed him. “Sure, Hinata. What about?”

 

“Can we go somewhere else?” the shorter asked, trying (but failing) to discreetly glance at Kei.

 

“Sure,” Yamaguchi replied, slightly confused but willing nonetheless. Turning toward Tsukishima, he let out a quick “I’ll be back,” staying only long enough to see the blond boy nod in acknowledgement before following Hinata out the door of the gym they were in.

 

They made their way to to the empty club room in total silence, the one they were borrowing for the duration of their trip. Hinata seemed troubled, which only piqued Yamaguchi’s curiosity. What could possibly upset Hinata, arguably one of the most cheerful people on the team no matter what?

 

“What’s wrong, Hinata?” inquired the freckled boy.

 

“Do you know who your soulmate is?”

 

Despite being platonic soulmates, this was something that they hadn’t really talked about, unless it was about Hinata and Kageyama. All he could do was nod his head slightly.

 

“Is it Tsukishima?”

 

Another nod of his head. “Yeah, it’s him,” Yamaguchi said softly.

 

“Why don’t you guys act like it, then?” Hinata asked, genuinely curious. Yamaguchi’s been wondering the same thing for years.

 

“I guess we haven’t really talked about it, Hinata,” Yamaguchi said, voice barely above a whisper. Had he known this would be what he wanted to talk about, he wouldn’t have agreed to come.

 

As if sensing his unease, Hinata immediately let up. “I’m sorry, Yamaguchi, I’m just frustrated. Why is Kageyama so… bleh.”

 

“What do you mean?” Yamaguchi asked, latching onto the subject change.

 

“Like… he seems like he’s jealous of Kenma for being my platonic soulmate, but isn’t a romantic one... better for us? I know for sure being just friends with Kenma is what’s best for me and them, but thinking about being with Kageyama in _that_ way feels… right, you know?”

 

“I understand,” Yamaguchi smiled. “I don’t think that’s why he’s jealous, though.”

 

Hinata tilted his head with furrowed brows, an indication that Yamaguchi needed to elaborate.

 

“Well.. look at it from Kageyama’s perspective. You’re supposed to be with him ‘in _that_ way,’ right? Yet, you’ve been hanging out with Kenma a lot more than Kageyama. Maybe he feels like you’d rather be with Kenma.”

 

“If that’s how he felt, why wouldn’t he just tell me?”

 

Yamaguchi sent Hinata a pointed look. “You and Kageyama, honestly talking to each other about your feelings?”

 

A pause. “I see where you’re coming from…I still wish we could, though.”

 

“All you have to do is bring it up to him, I’m sure he’ll be okay with it,” Yamaguchi supplied. In all honesty, he didn’t really know how Kageyama would react, but he couldn’t stand seeing his friend like this.

 

“I think I will. Thanks, Yama,” Hinata sent the freckled boy a dazzling smile. _Kageyama would be an idiot to not like him_ Tadashi thought fondly. Hinata quickly turned to Yamaguchi, a devilish sparkle in his eye. “So what’s this about Tsukishima?” the short middle blocker was only appeased for so long, after all.

 

\--

 

Tsukishima fidgeted with his fingers, not really sure what to do with them. Yamaguchi and Hinata had been gone for quite some time, and the blond had no idea what to do without the constant presence of Yamaguchi by his side.

 

“Tsukki,” A voice called. Kei had been silently hoping he wouldn’t come over to him, but to no avail.

 

“Don’t call me that,” He snapped, hoping to sound bored yet annoyed.

 

“What? You let the cute freckled boy on your team call you that,” Kuroo pointed out.

 

Tsukishima felt a flash of unnecessary anger at the word “cute” before forcing himself to calm down. After all, as annoying as Kuroo was, he was surprisingly a decent person. Instead of responding to Kuroo’s attempt at angering the blond boy, he gave him a look that he hoped said _shut up and leave me alone._

 

The third year returned Kei’s glare with a knowing smirk before speaking up, “I understand. I guess even the coldest people have a soft spot, huh Glasses?”

 

“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Tsukishima said, silently turning his head in the direction of Kenma, who was discreetly watching Kuroo from across the court.

 

“They're not cold,” Kuroo spoke fondly of his soulmate, similar to the way Daichi spoke of Suga. “Kenma’s just quiet and would rather play video games. Anyway, though, why isn’t he with you?”

 

“Yamaguchi? Hinata wanted to talk to him about something.”

 

“They’ve been gone for quite a while, haven’t they?” Kuroo asked. Kei nodded. “Wonder what they're talking about.”

 

Tsukishima wasn't sure why, but he felt he could open up to Kuroo, even slightly. “Probably about shorty’s soulmate, the King.”

 

“Are they dating?” Kuroo was curious, and normally Kei wouldn't answer these types of questions but right now, he was bored and they weren't talking about him. So he went on.

 

“Not officially. They act like it sometimes, but they're both too stupid to actually talk about their feelings.”

 

“Like you and freckles?” Tsukishima was a little caught off guard by Kuroo’s observation, so he kept his stare focused on the wall across from him and hoped to seem unbothered.

 

“No.”

 

“So what is the situation?”

 

“A little pushy, aren't you?”

 

Kuroo grinned. “Just trying to help. I'm always this nice.”

 

“Yamaguchi and I haven't talked about it.” Kei said, despite knowing how unbelievable it was. Most friends talked about it a lot, sometimes people even talked to strangers about it. Soulmates were always a topic of conversation.

 

“Ever?” Kuroo sounded a little shocked, as expected, but he didn't sound skeptical.

 

“Ever,” Kei confirmed. “I'm not willing to bring it up and I think he knows that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Tsukishima was about to respond but Kenma came over to Kuroo, dragging his attention away from the bespectacled first year in the middle of a crisis. Kenma pulled on Kuroo’s jacket sleeve, a silent form of communication the two seem to have perfected over the years.

 

Really, why didn't Kei want to talk about it with Tadashi? Yes, he was slightly afraid of not being Tadashi’s “forever,” but that option seemed slightly more likely than the other boys. Kei knew subconsciously that he’d already know if it were someone else, but he also knew there was a larger, more negative part of him that though him undeserving of Yamaguchi’s perfection.

 

He needed to clear his head.

 

Tsukishima got up from his spot on the gym floor, nodding his head toward the couple before heading off to find Yamaguchi. He wasn’t really sure where to look, but he’d rather do that than stay in the gym surrounded by sweaty boys and couples with no care for PDA.

 

He’s not really sure what led him to the club room, even less sure why he decided to stop and listen outside of the door, but that’s exactly what he did.

 

“You guys are soulmates, aren’t you?” Hinata’s voice was as loud and obnoxious as ever.

 

“Well, yeah,” Yamaguchi responded. “We haven’t talked about it yet, and I don’t know if we ever will.”

 

“You should talk to him, Yama! You’re both obviously pining for each other!”

 

“Don’t talk to me about obvious, Sho,” Yamaguchi retorted.

 

“Sorry, Yamaguchi. I still think you should talk to him.”

 

“What do you expect me to say, Hinata? ‘I know we haven’t talked about it before, but you’re my soulmate’ isn’t exactly how I want things to go!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, sounding exasperated. “I really want to tell him but… I’m afraid.”

 

Tsukishima’s blood seemed to stop cold. _He knows who his soulmate is? Why hasn’t he told me? Why would he tell Hinata before me?_

 

“Well,” Hinata began, sounding deep in thought. “I have an idea! I’ll tell Kageyama how I feel if you tell him.”

 

“Hinata, I love you, but that is literally one of the worst ideas you’ve ever had.” Hinata made a noise of indignation before letting Yamaguchi complete his thought. “Alright, let’s do it.”

 

“Really?” Hinata asked incredulously. “This is awesome! Then we can go on double dates!”

 

“There it is: the worst idea you’ve ever had. You _know_ those two don’t get along, Sho.”

 

At this point, Tsukishima’s stomach was doing all sort of flips and twists. In hopes of finding a distraction, he decided to make his presence known to the pair.

 

Walking into the club room, Yamaguchi and Hinata’s expressions both said “ _we just got caught doing something we weren’t supposed to_ ,” a face that typically belonged to grade schoolers, much less first years in high school.

 

“Yamaguchi, I’m bored,” Tsukishima said, thankful that he could keep his voice even despite the inner turmoil he subjected himself to. “You were taking too long.”

 

“Sorry, Tsukki, Sho and I are done now.”

 

“Bye, Stingyshima!” Hinata called as he walked out. “Hope I don't have to see you again!”

 

Tsukishima turned toward Yamaguchi, a deadpan expression on his face. “Does he know we're on the same team?” Yamaguchi laughed in response, leading the way out before launching into a speech about the latest anime he’d been watching.

 

Kei listened - of course he did, he could listen to Tadashi talk about anything and everything - but something Yamaguchi said to Hinata was eating at his mind. _You know those two don't get along._

 

Obviously one of the two was Kageyama, and the other… well it could be anyone since Kageyama is like _that_ but there's only one person Tsukishima could think of off the top of his head.

 

He tuned into Yamaguchi’s rambling, intent on finding a distraction from the hope building in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to post on time, I'm sorry! Also I know they're all probably ooc but I haven't really written for these characters so I'm still getting a grip (I saw halfway through the fic)
> 
> Uh thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this ones for a disgustingly long time but I wanted to get feedback to see if I should continue it...
> 
> If you read it, thank you so much!
> 
> I'm not sure how often I'll update so I apologize for that, but the next chapter is pretty much done!


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